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Volunteer Opportunities

Trust volunteer Volunteering can make a real difference to a beneficiary’s life whether they are receiving support or offering to support a fellow beneficiary. To meet the changing needs of beneficiaries the Trust is continually developing new volunteer roles to enable beneficiaries to get involved and contribute their skills.

Take a look at our current Beneficiary Volunteer roles.

Download Application Form

Opportunities available

Offer your help on an ad-hoc basis

If you have skills that you think will benefit the Trust, and other beneficiaries, you can offer us help on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis, when we need those particular skills. Beneficiaries have helped us by being on various committees, with graphic design, by doing research or helping out at events. What could you offer?

Connect Volunteer

Overall purpose of role - You will be helping beneficiaries to access and connect with services within their area by:

Helping beneficiaries find a local service in order to troubleshoot their particular need (e.g. care, cleaner, dogwalker, benefits advice etc.) and support them to access these services. This could involve making telephone calls on the beneficiary’s behalf, e.g. to set up appointments, or possibly accompanying them.
Encouraging and enabling beneficiaries to become more confident and less isolated, by helping them to connect to the services around them.
Communicating with other Connect volunteers and the Health & Wellbeing team to provide a joined-up service.

The role will involve building up a knowledge of local services available in your local geographical area. These services may include:

Benefit advice and support
Local voluntary service
Befriending schemes
Knit & natter
Gardening clubs
Coffee mornings
Care & Care assessments
Social Services
Citizen Advise Bureau
Different Health Services
Tradesman
Cleaners/Gardeners/PAs/Carers
Massage centres
Mobility centres
PAs
Physiotherapists, Gym and fitness clubs, Pilates

To be able to perform this role from home you will require an up-to-date computer, IT skills, a phone or mobile, and an internet connection.

For more information please see the Connect Volunteer role profile

Technical Support Volunteers

There are currently four Technical Support Volunteer Roles in the following areas:

1. Aids, Equipment and Adaptations

Overall purpose of role:

To keep up to date with the latest aids and adaptations.
To share your knowledge with other beneficiaries and help them think about what will meet their individual needs.
To provide support to find a supplier and with installation (if required).
To encourage beneficiaries to think about how aids and adaptations could help them stay mobile and independent.
To provide information about aids and adaptations for the website to ensure it is up to date.

2. Smart Home Technology

Overall purpose of role:

To keep up to date with Smart Home technology
Share your knowledge with other beneficiaries and advise them on the suitability of this technology to meet their needs.
Provide support to find a supplier and/or install the technology in their home
Provide information and case studies for the website to ensure it is up to date

3. Electric Vehicles

Overall purpose of role:

To keep up to date with electric vehicles.
Share your knowledge with other beneficiaries and help them consider the suitability of an electric vehicle to meet their needs.
Provide support to find more information and compare different options.
Provide information and case studies for the website to ensure it is up to date.

4. IT And Internet Use

Overall purpose of role:

To keep up to date with accessible IT equipment that will meet beneficiaries need.
Help beneficiaries to get set up online and develop their internet skills so that they can use the internet safely and reliably.
Help beneficiaries access the Trust website and use the beneficiary forum.
Provide information and case studies for the website to ensure it is up to date.

Health and Wellbeing Champion

Overall purpose of role:

The purpose of the role is to be supporting and encourage beneficiaries to improve their physical and emotional health and wellbeing. This will involve:

Helping beneficiaries make lifestyle changes, for example:
- Opportunities to be active – e.g. walking group, dog walking
- Identifying ways to connect with others, e.g. discussion groups, mutual telephone support
- Opportunities to focus on healthy eating – e.g. weight loss groups, sharing meal plans and recipes
- Sharing resources to assist with lifestyle changes, e.g. fitness tracking, food diaries, forums
Helping beneficiaries to connect with local health and wellbeing services, and support them in accessing these services. For example, activity groups or opportunities, physiotherapists, personal trainers, Slimming World etc.
Encouraging and supporting other beneficiaries in making positive changes to their lifestyles.
Identifying heath and wellbeing topics of interest for the Trust website.
Being active on the forum on health and wellbeing issues and encouraging others to engage.

TalkTogether Volunteer

TalkTogether is a telephone contact service from the Trust to put people in touch with a friendly voice to offer conversation, moral support and understanding. It provides an opportunity for beneficiaries who need a friendly ear to be put in touch with another beneficiary who has the time to listen, the perspective to understand and the right skills to provide support.

Overall purpose of role:

To provide a consistent and reliable 30-minute weekly telephone call to another beneficiary.
Encourage and support them to become more confident and less lonely and isolated through your empathy and support.
Make comfortable conversation that allows you to appropriately build trust and confidence, and to share experiences.

Specific Requirements:

Time Commitment: You will need to commit to a minimum of one 30-minute call each week for a minimum of a year, wherever possible. You will have an opportunity to discuss your availability as part of your volunteer interview, including your ability to commit more time if desired.

Communications Technology: You will need access to the internet, an email account and a telephone to become a TalkTogether volunteer. If you have a visual impairment, or a disability that may require specialist equipment or telephone/IT support, please highlight this on your application in question 2 and we will discuss this at your interview.

Lift Up Volunteers

Lift-Up is a self-help service to support those who are experiencing low mood. This service includes support by a trained beneficiary volunteer with a weekly telephone call to help someone understand what low mood is and how to make changes to improve their mood.

Overall purpose of role:

To guide beneficiaries who wish to engage through the 6 weeks Lift Up programme.
Encourage and support beneficiaries to engage with the process, taking one step at a time to achieve optimum result from the process.
Report any issues to the Lift Up coordinator promptly in order they are addressed as soon as possible.

Virtual Meeting Host/Facilitator Volunteers

Overall purpose of role:

To create a welcoming atmosphere during online video sessions which provide connection opportunities for beneficiaries.
To facilitate introductions where a new beneficiary attends or when others have not met before.
Actively manage an online session ensuring that all participants have the opportunity to speak if they wish, are muted if required, and participants enabled to screen share if required (training available).
Be prepared before a session with open questions in order to keep the conversation lively and engaging.
To liaise with the Volunteer Coordinator and other volunteers regarding ideas for future events.
Report back to the Volunteer Coordinator in the event of someone not attending a session.

Tips for volunteering

Read tips from beneficiary volunteers